Module 2 Lesson 5: Exploring Vocal Registers: A Guide to Smoother Singing
Transcription
Many singers have come to me who've had problems with a break in the middle part of their voice. They were understandably frustrated by their inability to sing smoothly from one side of the voice to the other and back again.
Even if you don't have a break in your voice that you're struggling with, knowing how the registers work can give you more control in your singing.
So, what are the different registers of the voice, and why is there a "break" that sometimes occurs? Let's go to the piano so that I can show you.
[Video of piano]
The lower register (or what some people call chest voice) goes from the lowest note in your voice to the octave above middle C. The upper register (or what some people call head voice or falsetto) goes from the highest note in your voice down to middle C#.
The area that overlaps is called the octave of balanced registration. Sometimes people use the term "mixed" registration because the transfer from lower to upper or vice versa can end up causing some "mixed up" registration. When the transfer doesn't go smoothly, you hear a "break."
So here's a simplified version of how this works.
Almost every muscle in the body has an antagonistic muscle. For instance, the bicep is the antagonistic muscle for the tricep. Both work together to open and close your arm.
The vocal mechanism has an antagonistic muscle system too. The cricothyroid anchors the lower register, and the cricoarytenoids work the upper register. When you go through that middle octave - there's a handoff — one muscle system takes over for the other. Like this:
[DEMONSTRATION with Oh to Oo and back again.]
If the transition from one muscle system to the other doesn't go smoothly, it sounds like this:
[DEMONSTRATION with Oh to Oo and back again — this time with a noticeable break.]
Did you hear the "break" where the muscle let go too quickly, and the transfer wasn't smooth?
So, how do we fix it? Well, back to the tricep and bicep. Both muscles need to be balanced in strength, flexibility, and stamina. Then, when they're working together, they need to be coordinated so that the handoff is smooth. In your voice, you can assist that handoff (the point where one muscle let's go so the other can take over) by reducing the power (or volume) before the transfer needs to take place. Then you increase the power after the transfer is made. It's a little like an hourglass...
Let's do this together.
Say YOH.
Say YOO.
OK. Now, pucker your lips — like you're giving somebody a kiss on the cheek.
Now we'll sing from YOH to OO. This first time through — don't worry about anything that happens. We're warming up the vocal folds first and getting them stretchy. Once they're flexible, we can try for more coordination.
Let's do this three times. Here we go…
SING VOCAL SLIDE 3X
OK. NOW, let's play with taking the power (or volume) out of that middle section. Ready? Let's do it three more times. Make sure you're puckering!
SING VOCAL SLIDE 3X
Great! How'd it go?
Don't worry about how high or low you're going. The important thing is to create as clean a sound as possible. You don't want to start or end in the gravel pit of your voice. So, don't do this:
SINGING EXAMPLE
Hear that noise? It's the vocal cords rubbing together like sandpaper. Do that over and over again, and it will rough up your voice and thicken up the vocal fold tissue rather than smooth it out and create more flexibility. So stop the slide before you hit the gravel at the bottom.
We're going to add one more thing to the exercise. This time when you sing it, lift the tummy in and up. Ready?
SINGING EXAMPLE
Don't forget to lift on the way down! Let's try it again.
SINGING EXAMPLE
Great!
SING VOCAL SLIDE 3X
The Vocal Slide is the one exercise you'll learn in this course, but it's a good one! Not only will it help you develop that coordination between the registers, but it's a great way to warm up the muscles before vocalizing or performance. You can also use it to rehabilitate the voice when you're sick.
There's a variation on the Vocal Slide that I'd like to teach you before we wrap it up and move on. I love using it in the shower in the morning when I'm having trouble getting my upper register going.
This time, we'll start in upper register with an NY prefix and an Ooo Vowel. NYOO. Go ahead and say that. NYOO. Again. NYOO.
OK. In this variation, we start on that darker Ooo vowel, go through the middle into the lower register on a brighter OH vowel, and then back again modifying towards Ooo…like this:
SINGING VARIATION ON VOCAL SLIDE 3x
Let's do it together…
SING VARIATION ON VOCAL SLIDE 3x
OK great!
THE LARYNX
There's one last part of the vocal mechanism that you should know about, and that's your larynx.
The cartilage in your nose, ears, feet, and larynx continues to grow throughout your lifetime. As the cartilage in your larynx gets bigger, the quality of your voice changes. Maybe you start out as a violin — the strings (vocal cords) are shorter, and the box (resonator) is kind of small. As you get older, the strings get longer, the box gets bigger — et voila! You're a viola, or maybe even a cello or bass.
You can hear the quality of the voice change in singers like Bonnie Raitt, who started recording when young and continue to record into adulthood. Here's Bonnie in her early 20s.
[Listen to Bonnie Raitt: Example One]
And here she is again singing in her 40s.
[Listen to Bonnie Raitt Example Two]
Hear the difference?
So let's make the voice — this fascinating, invisible to the naked eye instrument — more visible. The next lesson contains one of my favorite videos of the vocal folds in action.
But be forewarned, my family thought this was really gross!
